Adaptive capacity to climatic change in the Nigerian Savannah

Abstract

This study is based on the premise that the adaptive capacity of people and places is
closely related to their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics which in turn
determine their resilience. The study therefore examined the demographic and
socioeconomic dimensions of selected agricultural communities in the Nigerian savanna
with a view to assessing their adaptive capacity to climate change. The Nigerian
savannah has been largely altered by human related activities which have reduced its
capacity to support the teeming rural farming communities and the livelihood systems in
the region. Livelihood systems in the region are closely associated with terrestrial
ecosystems, and changes in global climate could exacerbate the conditions of the rural
farmers. The methodology for the study was based on the multistage random sampling
technique and Rural Rapid Appraisal (RPP) of eleven communities across ten Local
Government Areas (LGAs) in two states of the southwest and north central Nigeria.
Household survey, Key Informant Interview of traditional rulers and Government
officials were carried out while an intensive Focused Group Discussion among all the
actors was done. Both ex-ante and ex-post factors of gender, local knowledge and
experience, education, income from farm and off-farm sources, ability to diversify,
willingness to adapt, proportion of savings, and local adaptation mechanisms were
identified and used to understand adaptive capacity of the local communities to climate
change in the region. These factors provide an understanding of existing local actions
which could point to future coping and adaption strategies given emerging challenges of
climate change. By upscaling the local adaptive capacity it is possible to evolve regional
and national policies for improving the resilience of rural agricultural communities.